ANGELS PREVIEW: Halos believe they're priced right to win now

The Angels are entering Year 2 of the Jerry Dipoto era and already their general manager has signed Albert Pujols, C.J. Wilson and Josh Hamilton. Has anyone done more in their first two years since Led Zeppelin?

Dipoto, still relatively fresh on the job and fresh-faced at age 44, sat at his desk overlooking Tempe Diablo Stadium on a recent morning and counted his blessings. What rookie executive gets both the resources and the opportunity to sign those kind of stars?

"I don't know that anybody ever expects that," Dipoto said. "We have an incredibly competitive owner, an owner who wants to win. Arte (Moreno) has shown nothing over the years if not a competitive spirit. We have never been lacking on resources. That predates my being here. This organization has always spent to put a good product on the field at the major-league level."

Well, sort of. The Angels aren't entering uncharted waters in 2013.

It's just that the last time they got here they steered away, changed course, and set sail for the team's first and only World Series title.

To know if the price is right on the Angels' $148 million payroll, one must look backward before looking forward.

Gene Autry bankrolled the expansion Angels in 1960 and was among baseball's highest-spending owners for the next three decades. Pujols, Wilson and Hamilton followed a trail to Anaheim blazed by Rod Carew, Nolan Ryan and Reggie Jackson.

The organizational philosophy changed in the late 1980s under Autry and continued under his wife,

Jackie. No longer would they target the game's premier free agents at the expense of drafting and developing.

The Angels drafted well, landing Jim Edmonds (1988), Tim Salmon ('89), Garret Anderson and Troy Percival ('90) in a three-year span, and allowed each to reach the majors by climbing the minor-league ladder.

By the time Disney bought the team in 1995, the Angels could target free agents selectively to complement their homegrown stars. By 2002, Salmon, Anderson and Percival were world champions.

"It is the lost draft choices, probably more than the free-agent salaries," Jackie Autry said in a 1991 interview, "that can undermine a team's future."

As long as Dipoto is counting his blessings, he might want to pray that Jackie Autry is wrong about the future.

The present looks rosy. Pujols and Hamilton hit back-to-back home runs for the first time as teammates March 21. The homers came in the fourth inning of a Cactus League game against Hamilton's former team, the Texas Rangers, and the Angels would hit two more before the inning was over. There figure to be some innings like that in 2013.

Manager Mike Scioscia had the same thought a year ago, but there were too many ill-fitting parts on the roster to make it work. Pujols and Kendrys Morales couldn't both play first base. Bobby Abreu, Vernon Wells, Torii Hunter and Peter Bourjos couldn't all play the outfield.

Mark Trumbo could scarcely find a position at all.

The parts fit better this year, which was one of Dipoto's offseason goals as he retooled the roster.

"Last year coming in we had a little bit of a clunky roster to start the season," he said. "As we worked our way through the season we refined it and found better solutions, not the least of which was Mike Trout."

Trout, who turned 21 last August, was a unanimous choice for American League Rookie of the Year and would have been the MVP if Miguel Cabrera hadn't won the AL Triple Crown.

He'll bat leadoff and play left field, with Bourjos taking over in center and Hamilton in right. Questions about Trout's weight (240pounds, or 10 more than a year ago) and salary ($510,000, or $20,000 more than the major-league minimum) will be replaced by questions about his historic potential if he comes close to replicating 2012.

However, Trout probably doesn't need to lead the world in runs, stolen bases, OPS and WAR again for the Angels to succeed. He's got help.

Pujols turned 33 in January and is coming off knee surgery in October.

His knee seemed less affected in spring by playing first base than by running the bases, though his speed is improving.

Dipoto said he didn't disregard Hamilton's history of injuries (he averages 123 games played a season) or drug and alcohol abuse (he's relapsed only twice since reaching the majors in 2007). "It's an unusual history all the way around," the GM acknowledged. Hamilton's offensive skills are unquestioned, but he's entering the stage of his career where every injury will be measured against his age (31).

Catcher Chris Iannetta returns along with the entire 2012 infield: Pujols, Howie Kendrick at second base, Erick Aybar at shortstop and Alberto Callaspo at third. Aybar gets the privilege of batting between Trout and Pujols every day, with Hamilton hitting cleanup.

Trumbo, the designated hitter, figures to bat fifth if his .299 Cactus League on-base percentage and putrid second half of last season are behind him. The Angels will use him to occasionally spell Pujols at first base.

Offensively and defensively, the Angels have one of the best combinations of position players in baseball. The real question marks lie with the pitching staff.

Beyond ace Jered Weaver, there are concerns with Wilson, who struggled with an injury after the All-Star break last year, and new acquisitions Joe Blanton, Jason Vargas and Tommy Hanson. Only Blanton avoided an abominable start in spring. Opponents batted .300 and .434, respectively, off projected sixth and seventh starters Garrett Richards and Jerome Williams.

"(Our rotation) is potentially seven deep," Dipoto said. "At the major-league level we're more excited about where we are this year in terms of Nos. 8 through 12 than we were a year ago at this time.

"That's pivotal to us."

The ninth inning will presumably belong to Ernesto Frieri again, at least until free-agent acquisition Ryan Madson is fully recovered from Tommy John surgery. He has yet to throw off a mound at full speed.

Another newcomer, left-hander Sean Burnett, must be the stable set-up man he was last year in Washington.

The Angels cannot be excited about the consequences of another slow April after a 7-15 start cost them a playoff berth last year. There's no Trout in Triple-A waiting for his chance. There are few tradable prospects that can net quality major-league help in return.

No organization's cupboard is more bare, according to a number of publications that have the Angels' system ranked last among the 30 teams.

Dipoto can't count on last year's first-round draft pick, or this year's first- and second-round draft picks, to pay dividends down the road. The Angels surrendered those picks when they signed Pujols and Hamilton.

Was the price right? Check back in seven months, when a World Series champion is crowned, and again in seven years.